With the Rio Olympic Games starting in just a few weeks, and today being one of the most important but little known national holidays, I thought to myself, what better way to take notice than with an advertisement released recently that celebrates both? What national holiday takes place today may you ask? NATIONAL JUNK FOOD DAY OF COURSE!
Before I get into all of our bad junk food habits, I’d like to spotlight Coca Cola’s new campaign, #ThatsGold, by Ogilvy & Mathers Brazil and David. Coke counts as junk food, right?? The goal of Coca-Cola’s campaign for the 2016 summer games was to capture the joy and excitement of winning Olympic gold medals and how it is comparable to some of the emotional highs in real life. The campaign will consist of TV and print ads featuring 79 Olympic athletes from 23 countries.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xgrFv-j1ws&ab_channel=Coca-Cola
I am always a fan of Coca-Cola’s campaigns and think they do an exceptional job at provoking emotion. This campaign is no exception. Ivan Pollard, SVP, Strategic Marketing at Coca-Cola stated, “There’s something that’s so powerful about the Olympics. It brings together experiences of mutual understandings, friendships, solidarity, togetherness, inclusion and equality. This year’s campaign is special because it’s not about watching someone win a gold medal, it’s about watching their face when they do. It’s exactly the same feeling you have when you teach your children to ride a bicycle, or when your son graduates from college.”
What are your thoughts? I personally think they achieved their goal because we can all relate to a crowning moment. A moment where we have felt like a gold medalist, no matter how small or large the feat was.
Back to National Junk Food Day. The other day Tara mentioned that we should start a segment on our blog featuring odd national holidays. Coincidently, National Junk Food Day was the next one. Of course none of us could pass up the opportunity to cheat on our diets, so I took it upon myself to ask everyone at the office what their favorite junk food was.
What are some of our favorite junk foods may you ask?
Eric: “Without a doubt my favorite indulgence is chicken wings. During my travels for Array I’ve sampled wings from across America and around the world. Breaded, naked, fried, baked, grilled, smoked and even confit, I’ve tried them every which way. My typical strategy is to order “the hottest you got” but at times this has literally bit me in the ass. One time that stands out was during a trip to Chicago. Cathy Snarski (Sosey back then) and I were there for the International Housewares Show and we stopped into Jake Melnick’s Corner Tap on E Superior Street. I ordered the XXX wings that are named for the three peppers used in the sauce: ghost, scorpion and habanero. I’ll leave out the gory details, but there wasn’t enough beer in the joint to put out the flames.”
Cathy: “Being pregnant made me crave allll sorts of junk food, but mostly ice cream and cheese puffs (salty and sweet combination). There were a few times that I sent my husband Shaun to DQ or the local ice cream shop late at night because of my craving. Haha, I’m sure he loved it.”
Dawn: “I really had a hard time deciding on a favorite! My first choice would be beer, but as that’s not really a food… My food choice would be chips and guac. I definitely agree with Cathy on the ice cream/pregnancy cravings! 6 years later and my love of Chick Fil A milkshakes hasn’t faded!”
Tara: “PIZZA.”
Donny: “I was researching junk foods and found the following article: This Man Ate Only Junk Food for 30 Days and Lost 11 Pounds. It’s real and interesting.
Anyhow, my favorite junk food is probably boneless wings from BW3.”
Ian: “Hands down the best:”
Kim: “Cheez its.”
Me: “Jalapeño Cheetos, I can and will eat a whole bag at once.”
Shawn: “I love Oreo Cookies.”
We couldn’t stop at just talking about our favorites, so we went ahead and threw our own National Junk Food Day soirée featuring all of our favorite guilty pleasures.
Here are some of the results…
Even though all of our stomachs are bursting at the seams and I can barely keep my eyes open while typing this, I think I can say our first annual National Junk Food Day party was a success! Feel free to comment below and let us know what your favorite junk foods are!
Sources:
Birkner, Christine. “Coca-Cola Celebrates Gold Medal Moments in Campaign for Rio Olympics.” AdWeek. N.p., 13 July 2016. Web. 21 July 2016. <http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/coca-cola-celebrates-gold-medal-moments-campaign-rio-olympics-172485>.
Cocacola. “Gold Actions.” YouTube. YouTube, 14 July 2016. Web. 21 July 2016. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xgrFv-j1ws&ab_channel=Coca-Cola>.